[center][img]https://www.wired.com/images_blogs/photos/uncategorized/2007/05/30/picture_10.jpg[/img]
[b]THE STATE OF EMPIRE, 2387[/b][/center]

[b][u]Overview[/u][/b]

Peace reigns in the Quadrant. A triumphant Federation has destroyed the mortal enemy of Freedom, the Dominion, and sent it back across the wormhole from where it came, and now stands as the predominant power in the region. Their century-long enemy, the hardfought foe of Cardassia, has been brought to heel and, with an allied - cynics might say puppet - government, they are no longer a thorn on the side of Starfleet. Relations with the Klingon Empire, disregarding the usual border disputes and brazen acts of individual privateers, have never been higher. Even the Romulan Empire, shrouded behind the veil of the Neutral Zone, has been making overtures of peace and reconciliation. Optimistic scholars say that reunification with Vulcan is possible within a generation. And all of this is to the direct benefit of the Federation, which in the wake of the Dominion War has swelled to a size never seen before. In other words, the Federation stands unchallenged in its corner of the Galaxy. It seems that the Eternal Peace, which billions of men and women gave their lives for in dozens of star systems and fleet actions, was a dream worth dreaming of. It is not only a dream, but a reality made possible by their sacrifice. 

But it is all about to change.

Disjointed and oft contradictory reports begin flooding the listening posts along the Neutral Zone, who had gotten complacent and used to the lack of action. The junior officers struggle to make sense of it, but pass the information up the chain. The puzzle begins to fit itself into place as fleeing military craft violate the Neutral Zone, requesting asylum for their crews. In only two short days, the reality hits Starfleet Command:

Romulus has been destroyed, and the Romulan Empire is disintegrating by the minute. It is clear to all the powers in the region that the vacuum caused by the destabilization of the Empire can only mean one thing. War is coming. The Klingons mobilize their military forces and begin sending punitive expeditions into the fractured and weakened Imperium, exacting revenge for crimes done onto their people.

Frantically, the 12th Fleet - normally kept in reserve for anti-piracy operations, is deployed to the Neutral Zone to deal with the incoming refugee crisis and, ostensibly, to keep the peace. One of these ships, practically rushed out of the drydock, is the USS [i]Vigilance[/i], an aged Ambassador-class starship in drydock for extended repairs. The crew is picked from those on temporary duty assignment and, with a brief shakedown cruise to the Neutral Zone the only thing to prepare them, are sent out to enforce the Federation's ideals of Freedom, Democracy, and Liberty.

Or, at least, that is what they believe. For the dawn of a New Galactic Order is peaking over the Milky Way Horizon, and it can be stopped by no man.

[u][b]The Meat of IT[/b][/u]

Hello all! Thanks for reading that little blurb but I wanted to set the scene for all of you "in-character" before I set about expositioning. So basically, the story picks up right where the first reboot movie leaves us, with the destruction of Romulus. Instead of fleeing to an alternate universe, we take up the story and pursue it to the end here. I don't really have a full thorough plot planned out except in generalities (that I won't show my hand to just yet!) but the idea is that there will be episodic-like missions that grow into a whole story arc. Nothing in this roleplay will be self-contained, but rather every mission our characters go on will affect things. So that means your decisions will impact my idea of the plotline! How exciting.

I anticipate this to deal with a lot of themes that are commonplace in history and today: the cutting of the cake of a dying Empire by stronger powers, the clashing of Empires for their spheres of influence, an uncontrollable refugee crisis, and everything in between. This story may be a little "dark" for Star Trek but I believe that it's something that is topical and definitely something that would occur. The destruction of Romulus, and the fracturing of their Empire, is a tantalizing subject that I believe can yield a lot of story potential.

I am in the Navy myself so I will try my best to inject my subject knowledge onto Starfleet, and I hope that all of you can bear with me as I may slightly alter some things that otherwise would be considered "non-canon" or unspoken of. One of these will be enlisted personnel. You will see more of this later in this post when I talk about characters I need filled, but we will see the whole level of the crew lined up to what a real-life Navy ship has. A ship cannot run without its chiefs or its petty officers, and I believe a starship is no different. We will pretend as if Star Trek always had visible enlisted personnel. That means no more Ensigns doing the work that Seamen would normally do.

I'm willing to take in everyone's suggestions for where to take this story, like "episodes" that you would want to see played out. Remember this is your story too. I will take the role of not only the Captain, but also of the "Narrator" who will occasionally drop information pertinent to move the storyline along. This may be unorthodox but I want to make sure the story moves towards a conclusion, as I've done roleplays in the past that, for the lack of a better word, meander. And, finally, I will avoid sticking to any EU (STO and/or novels) on their vision of the Trek post-Nemesis/Romulus destruction. I will take some notes and cues from them, but this story is self-contained. It allows for more freedom of movement.

Finally, I expect people to have some subject matter knowledge on Star Trek and the ability to write in the universe and also with a military bearing on it. I know Star Trek doesn't have this but the world post-Dominion War, I imagine Starfleet to be far more militarized than what we've seen. As far as posting, I want to emphasize quality over all else. A length of a post, as long as it's a paragraph or two, doesn't matter as much to me as the quality of it. Proper grammar, descriptive words, all that good stuff. Expect this to be held to a "High Casual" standard.

[b][u]Characters[/u][/b]

Now, with my brief introduction out of the way, I will introduce our characters, including the main one (The USS [i]Vigilance[/i])

[hider=The Vigilance][img]https://i.imgur.com/s6r2268.jpg[/img]
[b]USS VIGILANCE
NCC-56912
"No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation."[/b]

[i][u]Dimensions:[/u]
Length:
524.256 meters
Width:
283.006 meters
Height:
101.955 meters
Mass:
3,710,000 metric tons

[u]Specifications:[/u]
Decks:
33
Crew:
700
Top Speed:
Warp 9.4
Armaments:
10 type-IX phaser arrays, 2 photon torpedo launchers
Defences:
Ablative Hull
Deflector shields
Auxiliary craft:
Four Shuttlecraft
[/i]

The USS [i]Vigilance[/i], an Ambassador-class heavy cruiser, was once one of the most powerful ships in Starfleet. Her illustrious career saw her deployed to Sector 562 during the Federation-Cardassian War, where she took part in numerous planetary invasion operations as well a convoy interdiction. For her part during the Fleet Action of Stardate 44538, she earned the Battle Efficiency Award for singlehandedly destroying twenty munitions-laden supply ships headed to the front.

When, in 2370, the Treaty of Yle-Oy was signed, the [i]Vigilance[/i] was moved into a reserve capacity. She was assigned to the Orion Belt, patrolling that lawless portion of Federation space, and it is where she remained for ten years. Crews came and went through her hallowed P-Ways, each doing their best to keep the peace in that violent sector. She was, briefly, deployed to Betazed during the Dominion War but did not see much action. The decades-old ship was considered a liability, and kept in a primarily defensive posture, guarding convoys moving through secured space.

It is here, sometime in 2380, that the service record of the ship disappears from Starfleet records. She doesn't appear again until 2385, when she was towed into the Rigellian Fleet Yards with her electronic systems completely fried, her engines wrecked, and in need of critical repair. She sat at the mothball fleet in the yards, awaiting decommissioning, until an order came down in 2386 to begin repairing and retrofitting her. The [i]Vigilance[/i], given new life, was given the order not a second too soon, for just as the repairs were completed, orders came down from Starfleet Command for her to be immediately recrewed and sent to deal with the rapidly unfolding situation in Romulus.[/hider]

[hider=Captain Strenn]
[b][color=0054a6]DECLASSIFIED DOCUMENT FROM
BUREAU OF STARFLEET PERSONNEL
STARFLEET COMMAND, SAN FRANCISCO, NORTH AMERICAN REGION, EARTH, SOL SYSTEM, SECTOR 001.
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY[/color]
[color=f7941d]LEGAL NAME:[/color] STRENN, SON OF SORAL
[color=f7941d]RANK AND PAYGRADE:[/color] CAPTAIN (O-6)
[color=f7941d]AGE:[/color] 45
[color=f7941d]PLACE OF ORIGIN:[/color] VULCANA REGAR, CONFEDERACY OF VULCAN, UNITED FEDERATION OF PLANETS
[color=f7941d]PHYSICAL APPEARANCE:[/color] VULCAN MALE, APPROXIMATELY 190CM IN HEIGHT AND 85KG IN WEIGHT. REDDISH AND/OR COPPER COMPLEXION. BROWN EYES. DISTINGUISHING AND IDENTIFIABLE MARKS INCLUDE ONE PLASMA BURN SCAR, APPROXIMATELY ONE AND ONE HALF INCH, ALONG RIGHT CHEEK
[color=ed1c24]NOTE FROM BUSTARPERS: INDIVIDUAL MUST UPDATE SERVICE RECORD TO INCLUDE PHYSICAL IMAGE BY END OF FISCAL YEAR 2387, AS PER BUSTARPERS T-4382. CONSULT WITH LOCAL BUSTARPERS REPRESENTATIVE FOR APPOINTMENT)[/color]
[color=f7941d]PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE:[/color]
PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE CONDUCTED BY LCDR G.R. VOLKER, M.D. ON STARDATE 62774 AT STARBASE 764, SECTOR 982.:
"CAPTAIN STRENN IS THE STEREOTYPICAL VULCAN, IF THERE EVER WAS ONE. FERVENT OF LOGIC TO THE POINT OF RELIGIOUS FRENZY, CAPTAIN STRENN IS COMMITTED TO THE VULCAN TRADITION AS LAID OUT BY SURAK. IT IS MY BELIEF, HOWEVER, THAT THERE IS A GREAT STORM BREWING UNDER THE COLD VENEER OF RATIONALISM, A TIDAL WAVE CRASHING AGAINST THE LEVIES OF HIS MIND. RECOMMEND FOLLOW UP WITH STARFLEET MEDICAL PERSONNEL PRIOR TO RECEIVING ORDERS FOR SPACE DUTY."
[color=f7941d]SERVICE RECORD (WITH ANNOTATIONS, AS PER BUSTARPERS S-5412):[/color]
STARDATE 37521: TRANSFERRED TO STARFLEET ACADEMY FROM VULCAN DIPLOMATIC INSTITUTE
STARDATE 37726: INDUCTED INTO CLASS 789 OF STARFLEET ACADEMY AS A MIDSHIPMAN
STARDATE 40539: SENT TO USS COMMENCEMENT (NCC-26255) AS PART OF JUNIOR YEAR MIDSHIPMAN CRUISE.
[i]ANNOTATION FROM COMMANDER RAKKA FROM STARDATE 40651: EXCELLENT OFFICER MATERIAL, BUT EXTREMELY IMPERSONAL.[/i]
STARDATE 41447: GRADUATED SALUTATORIAN AS PART OF CLASS 789 FROM STARFLEET ACADEMY. PROMOTED TO ENSIGN.
STARDATE 41546: DETACHED FROM STARFLEET ACADEMY AND REPORTED FOR DUTY ABOARD USS MELBOURNE (NCC-62043). ASSIGNED AS DIVO TO DIPMEDIV, EFFECTIVE STARDATE 41641.
STARDATE 42007: AWARDED RIBBON FOR MERITORIOUS SERVICE.
[i]ANNOTATION FROM CAPTAIN L.P. FOXWELL FROM STARDATE 42007: FOR EXEMPLARY DIVISIONAL INSPECTION AND STRESS TEST SCORES.[/i]
STARDATE 42265: PROMOTED TO LIEUTENANT, JUNIOR GRADE. EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.
STARDATE 42983: AWARDED SPACE SERVICE MEDAL, FOR OVER A YEAR OF SPACE DUTY.
STARDATE 43396: MENTIONED IN DISPATCHES.
[i]ANNOTATION FROM CAPTAIN L.P. FOXWELL FROM STARDATE 43396: FOR EXTRAORDINARY COMMITMENT TO DUTY DURING THE RAZZAKIAN PEACE ACCORDS.[/i]
STARDATE 43955: PROMOTED TO LIEUTENANT. EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.
STARDATE 44018: DETACHED FROM USS MELBOURNE (NCC-62043). TRANSFERRED TO STARBASE 440, SECTOR 399. ASSIGNED AS DEPT. HEAD TO DIPLOMATIC DEPARTMENT.
STARDATE 44783: AWARDED FEDERATION PEACE MEDAL.
[i]ANNOTATION FROM COMMODORE A.P. MENNKISCH FROM STARDATE 44783: FOR SINGLEHANDEDLY NEGOTIATING A CEASEFIRE ON L'LIV X BETWEEN COLONIAL GOVERNMENT AND INSURGENTS. NOTED ON RECORD THAT LIEUTENANT STRENN, DISREGARDING ADVICE FROM LOCAL AUTHORITIES, BEAMED INTO THE INSURGENT CAMP IN ORDER TO PERSUADE THEM TO THE PEACE TABLE. HIS BRAVERY AND COMMITMENT TO PEACE IS WELL NOTED.[/i]
STARDATE 46700: PROMOTED TO LIEUTENANT COMMANDER. EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY
STARDATE 47013: DETACHED FROM STARBASE 440. TRANSFERRED TO USS T'KUMBRA (NCC-62100). ASSIGNED AS DEPT. HEAD TO DIPLOMATIC DEPARTMENT.
STARDATE 47342: SECONDED BACK TO STARFLEET ACADEMY FOR ADVANCED WARFARE TRAINING. RETURNED TO DUTY ON USS T'KUMBRA (NCC-62100) ON STARDATE 47607.
STARDATE 48169: ASSIGNED AS CHIEF OF OPERATIONS. EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.
STARDATE 49346: AWARDED FEDERATION CROSS FOR VALOR.
[i]ANNOTATION FROM CAPTAIN SOLOK FROM STARDATE 49346: FOR BRAVERY IN THE FACE OF FIRE DURING THE FEDERATION-KLINGON CONFLICT. SAVED SHIP FROM CERTAIN DESTRUCTION.[/i]
STARDATE 50764: PROMOTED TO COMMANDER. ASSIGNED AS EXECUTIVE OFFICER. EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.
STARDATE 51429: AWARDED STARFLEET WOUND BADGE IN SILVER.
[i]ANNOTATION FROM CAPTAIN SOLOK FROM STARDATE 51429: AWARDED FOR WOUNDS SUSTAINED DURING THE BATTLE OF BARNARD'S STAR.[/i]
STARDATE 52616: PROMOTED TO CAPTAIN, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY. AWARDED FEDERATION MEDAL OF HONOR AND STARFLEET WOUND BADGE IN GOLD.
[i]ANNOTATION FROM GRAND ADMIRAL T.K. MERRIWEATHER FROM STARDATE 52791: AWARDED FOR BRAVERY ABOVE AND BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY DURING THE LIBERATION OF CARDASSIA. PERFORMED HIS DUTY UNDER EXTREME PRESSURE, TAKING CHARGE AND LEADING EVACUATION EFFORTS AFTER THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN SOLOK WHILE CRITICALLY WOUNDED FROM A PLASMA FIRE BURN.[/i]
STARDATE 52684: TRANSFERRED TO DEEP SPACE NINE FOR MEDICAL TREATMENT. DISCHARGED AND PUT INTO TEMPORARY RESERVE STATUS STARDATE 52742.
STARDATE 56188: RETURNED TO ACTIVE DUTY. PLACED IN TEMPORARY DUTY HOLDS AT STARFLEET LIAISON OFFICE, VULCAN.
STARDATE 57100: ASSIGNED AS COMMANDING OFFICER TO USS GALLANT (NCC-74882).
STARDATE 59698: AWARDED CAPTAIN OF THE YEAR FOR 12TH FLEET.
STARDATE 62698: TRANSFERRED FROM USS GALLANT (NCC-74882) TO STARBASE 764, SECTOR 982. ASSIGNED TO DEPARTMENT OF DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS.
STARDATE 64564: TRANSFERRED FROM STARBASE 764, SECTOR 982 TO USS VIGILANCE (NCC-56912)[/b][/hider]

There will be other characters, including the Captain (which I will post when we get to the OOC). I will provide only a list of the key personnel that will be needed to move this along. These will be the main staff officers, so it will be basically just like the TV shows. I will need:

An XO (Ranked as a Commander)
Chief Operations Officer (Ranked as Lt. Commander)
Command Master Chief (CMC will be their rank)
Chief Tactics Officer (Ranked as a Lt. Commander)
Chief Security Officer (Ranked as a Lt. Commander) [@inkarnate]
Commander of the Starfleet Marine contingent (Ranked as a Major) [@Gunther]
Chief Science Officer (Ranked as a Lt. Commander)
Chief Medical Officer (Ranked as either Commander or Lieutenant Commander)
Chief Engineer (Ranked as Lt. Commander)

I won't begin this RP until we have most of these slots filled. Please let me know here if you are interested in this concept! If enough people are willing to put their hat in, we can start work on an OOC and perhaps make a discord.

Thank you for your time!